Raglan Road About This Page:

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by Dave Marx, PassPorter Author

Theme dining takes another step forward at Downtown Disney with the opening of Raglan Road, the new Irish public house that replaces both the Pleasure Island Jazz Club and D-Zertz at Pleasure Island’s main entrance. A totally new façade of red brick and large, wood-framed windows evokes the Dublin we’ve never visited, and the impression continues as we enter. Old-fashioned tiled floors, dark woodwork, stained-glass room dividers, cozy booths, old photos, knickknacks, and quotations from Irish literati greet the eye, and the strains of traditional (and not-so-traditional) Irish tunes fills the air. The space seems huge in comparison to the Jazz Club, with four side dining areas flanking a large, round main dining room that includes a small musical stage to one side, a small, raised wood platform for solo performers/speakers in the dead center of the room, one huge, horseshoe-shaped bar, a somewhat smaller bar across the room, and a generously-sized merchandise shop offering St. Patrick’s day-style clothing and goodies year-round.

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[PassPorter News]

This is a big, boisterous place, built for partying. And interestingly enough, Irish though it may be, I have an easy time imagining Tolkien’s very English, fun-loving hobbits would be found here, rather than at the clubby and sedately English Rose and Crown Pub over in Epcot.

Let’s get down to dinner (which we did twice during our December visit to Walt Disney World).

I started with Smokie City, an appetizer of smoked cod, Wexford cheddar and double cream served in a crock ($11), which seemed utterly irresistible as I scanned the menu. I expected a crock full of thick, gooey, smoky goodness to slather over hunks of bread. While the flavor delivered on its promise, the contents of the crock never really melded, with hunks of fish and strands of melted cheese swimming in a sea of cream. It ate reasonably well with a fork, but it never worked as bread spread. On our second visit we shared starters of steamed mussels ($10.99) and Goats Town; warm, herb-crusted Irish goat cheese over salad greens with a berry compote ($12). Both appetizers were satisfying, although Jennifer would have preferred fresh berries to the cooked mixture of raspberries, strawberries and blueberries that accompanied the cheese. The goat cheese was creamy and mild – it could even be at home on a bagel – and to my taste, the berries presented a nice tart and sweet contrast to the rich cheese. The mussels were very good; plump and swimming in a white wine, leek and cream broth – it’s a good item to share at table. Friends enjoyed Scallop Forest ($12.99), one of several “forked” appetizers – grilled scallops on long fondue forks that seem perfect for consumption at the bar. In fact, the appetizer menu is also offered, with a couple of additions, as the bar menu.

I do want to take issue with the drink menu, specifically the absence of any printed listing of the many beers offered. Come on! Can you imagine dining at a French restaurant without a wine list? If the servers were well-educated in the available brews it would be one thing, but our first server clearly didn’t have a clue, and our second server was too hurried to do more than rattle off the names. I had an absolutely amazing dark brew the first night (“Yeah, I’ll try that,”) and I don’t have the slightest idea of what it was. As I understand things, most pubs historically were owned by breweries, so the choices were few – the house lager, stout, porter and ale. But in this age of brew pubs and hundred-brand beer cellars, a little help wouldn’t be out of place. Perhaps pubs in Dublin now do serve Belgian witbier (white beer), but wouldn’t it be nice if they educated us on the truly Irish brews before they offered the “foreign” beers?

Then, it was down to dinner. First time out, I screwed up my courage and had Kevin’s Kudos, the chef’s “signature dish” - braised bacon served with braised cabbage, sautéed leeks and mashed potatoes ($19.95). It just had to be better than the description, right? Yes, indeed it was. It was so nice that Jennifer ordered the same when we returned for our second visit. Banish the notion of a greasy slab of boiled American “streaky” bacon. This is Irish loin bacon, a very smoky, lean cut, much like Canadian bacon. While it was moist-cooked for tenderness, it also did a turn on the grill to add a bit of extra appeal. Generous slices were heaped over flavorful mashed potatoes, accompanied by a satisfying mixture of sautéed leeks and wild mushrooms, and garnished with a delicate little leaf of steamed cabbage. There was supposed to be some Irish Mist in there, but if so, it was too misty to detect. Quite lovely on a chilly evening, regardless! Jennifer’s other dinner was the chef’s updated Shepherd’s Pie ($14.95). In keeping with contemporary style, the pie was presented sky-high, a cylindrical tower of flavorful ground lamb layered with mashed potatoes, surrounded by a rich wine-based sauce. Tasty to be sure, but not the way your grandma would have done it. I opted for another pie, Pie in the Sky ($14.95), a crock full of boneless chicken and wild mushrooms, topped by a flaky pastry crust. The whole thing again suggested Tolkien’s hobbits - the kind of dish Farmer Maggot’s good wife might have served up in the “Shortcut to Mushrooms” chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring (all but eliminated in the movie). Well, I would have enjoyed some succulent, dark meat chicken along with the drier white meat, but the mushrooms were more than enough to please the hobbit in me.

There were a few other unsampled menu items that ooze old fashioned Irish charm: Planxty (roast pork shank), fish and chips, and a side of colcannon, a traditional mixture of cabbage and potatoes flavored with bacon. Then there are the “adaptations” – call it Nouvelle Irish Cuisine. Colcannon returns as Colpucinno, a “frothy” colcannon soup ($6), and as Rising Road, a cabbage and potato soufflé ($10.99). There isn’t an Irish Stew, but they serve rack of lamb over a “delicate Irish Stew consommé” ($25). The rib-eye steak is sauced with Irish whisky marmalade ($28.99), the burger has Wexford cheddar ($11.99), the grilled prawns come with a mead salsa ($15.95) and the baked salmon is topped with a slice of smoked salmon ($19.95). Considering the quality of what we did order, I’d be willing to try any of them. What you won’t find in any form is that standby of New York's Blarney Stone restaurants is corned beef and cabbage. I presume someone in the know will inform me that the item is Irish-American, not truly Irish.

For the life of me, I can’t remember the desserts, but I assure you, they’re present. Oh, yeah, we had a bread and butter pudding that was satisfying but not wonderful at $7.99, and I had something that was so completely unmemorable, I don’t even recognize it when I scan the menu. There are several seemingly-sinful chocolate confections that can’t possibly be traditionally Irish ($6.99-$8.99) – I’m pretty sure I didn’t try any of these, as I’m usually not in a mood for chocolate after a big dinner (I will make an exception for chocolate soufflé, though). It may have been the Bailey's Coffee Cream Pot ($6.99). What I should have tried was the strawberry and apple crumble ($7.99). I just have a feeling it’d have a satisfying, homey touch. I apologize for not taking better notes, but as was the case throughout our MouseFest visit, we had to dash to our next engagement.

The restaurant’s weakest link is definitely service. These were not the attentive, knowledgeable servers we’ve come to expect at Disney. Our first server was clearly new, and could offer little guidance about the menu. Our second server knew his stuff, but had far too many tables to attend to. Let’s hope this situation improves as the restaurant matures.

I can’t leave without mentioning the live entertainment. Alas, we dined too early the first night to experience any of it, and the situation was barely better the second night, but we did enjoy a handful of traditional folk tunes from a spirited old fellow. The live music and dancing doesn’t really get started until around 8:00pm, which is just about the time Pleasure Island's Comedy Warehouse and Adventurers Club open for the night. In short, to enjoy Raglan Road to the fullest, don’t plan to duck in here for an early dinner before a night out elsewhere – aim to make an evening of it.

Raglan Road – Downtown Disney Pleasure Island http://www.raglanroadirishpub.com

Reservations can be made through Disney Dining (407-WDW-DINE)